Hey everybody! We are back in Haiti! My brother asked for an update so I thought I’d post it on here as well.

We’ve been back in Haiti for about 2 and a half weeks and it’s been quite the start after our summer in Alaska. On Saturday the 7th we were having our Young Adult get together and all of a sudden we heard a rumble and then a second later it started shaking. We all ran out of the cement building because we’ve all seen pictures and heard stories of the 2010 earthquake. These buildings just don’t withstand a lot of violent shaking. The earthquake was about 40 miles northeast of us close to a town called Port de Paix. Everything here stayed together but some of our buildings have concerning cracks in the walls but no real damage. No one was injured except for a few bumps and bruises from people running out so fast and bumping into things.

We had about 3 aftershocks for a few days after the initial earthquake that left us all real jumpy at any noise. Some of the kids find it funny to make the rumbling noise and watch everybody run! It was kind of entertaining to see how fast they could move but then we tried to keep them from doing it again as it could end up like the boy who cried wolf.

Sine the 9th we haven’t had any aftershocks and the kids are less and less scared as each day goes by without any more shaking. For a few days afterwards, some of them were super scared and kept asking “do you think the shaking is done now?”

It was very good in a sense because it made them all and us think about how quick life can change and how fragile life is. Tonite we had an hour of worship and the kids really loved that. They were singing at the top of their lungs it was so neat to see!

Prayer Requests:

-thankfulness for God’s hand of protection on all of us here

-continued safety

-for Port de Paix and the surround communities as the people recover.

-that God would continue to work in these kids’ lives and that they would wholeheartedly commit their lives to Christ.

-safety as I’ve been teaching two of the older boys how to drive the manual transmission dodge diesel pickup. Not the easiest first vehicle to learn but once they get the hang of it they can drive anything!

-for continued wisdom in knowing how to use our time.

Thank you so much!

-Stephen

The commercial certified pilot himself! On August 13th, Stephen passed his Commercial checkride up in Alaska! We are so thankful for all of the support and the prayers from so many that have helped to achieve such a big accomplishment! God has been so faithfully good.

The summer has flown by since Brooks Range Bible Camp, and we have so many stories to share of the in-between. But we are both back in the States now, and are spending some time road-tripping out west to see family and friends. We plan to recuperate from the summer and then head back to Haiti on September 20th.

We are thankful for your support of us, and have experiences and stories we plan to share on the blog here at some point. We’ve been a little silent lately, but we haven’t forgotten 🙂

Until then, here’s some fun summer photos and memories.

-Anna

Brooks Range Bible Camp, from July 9th-23rd.

Sweet friends we will miss this winter.

Sight-seeing fun we had while my sister, Sarah, came to visit!

Stephen preparing for his commercial checkride.

Alaska 2018

Some fun photos of life here at Kingdom Air Corps, and some of the training Stephen has been doing over the last 2 weeks. If you follow my instragram or facebook, then some of these might be repeats of what you’ve already seen. But there are some new photos too!

Beautiful Alaska, and the Kingdom Air Corps runway.. a view that never gets old.

The airplane Stephen has been doing most of his training in, nicknamed “the silver bullet”.

One of Stephen’s requirements for his commercial license (his goal for this summer) was a solo cross-country flight. So here he is the morning of his big cross country, checking the plane and getting everything ready for take off.

A video of Stephen’s take-off for his big cross country. It ended up being a 7 hour day for him, which included flying and also making 3 different stops at airports along the way (part of the requirement for the flight).

A pilot friend loaned Stephen his GPS spot tracker, which allowed him to send check-ins messages every so often to let people know he was okay. I was able to see them on my phone, and could keep track of where he was whenever he checked in.

Stephen’s view from the air during his cross country. Alaska is absolutely stunning!

Making milkshakes Kingdom Air Corps style (yes, that is a drill). Any time a student passes a major milestone in their training, KAC celebrates with chocolate milkshakes. This was in celebration of Kit, a Thai student here for the summer who passed his instrument written test.

Stephen flying with Zack Loving, an instructor here at Kingdom Air Corps. They needed to go to Anchorage to do an airport pick-up, and it also was an opportunity for Stephen to practice flying the 206, one of KAC’s bigger airplanes.

Along the way to Anchorage..

A photo from this past weekend. We went up flying for a Saturday night date-night, and I got to enjoy Alaska from the air for the first time since being back. We were pretty excited about getting to see a bear along the way!

Beautiful Alaska at about 8 o’clock at night.

Kingdom Air Corps (also called ‘the Ranch’) from the air.

We are so thankful for your continued prayers for us and your faithful support and encouragement to us. It means more than we can put to words! We have a peace and a confidence that here is where God has us for the summer, as hard of a season as it can be at times. We are growing and learning a lot– in the means of aviation, of understanding and loving each other better, and of seeking more of who God is and what He has for us.

-Anna

Alaska’s bitter wind and sweet sunshine have filled our days for almost 2 weeks now. After 21 hours of travel last Wednesday (May 23rd) and a 3 hour time zone difference, I think it is safe to say we are finally caught up and back on track now.

Our first few days we enjoyed seeing familiar faces again and catching up with people we haven’t seen in nearly a year. All the familiar sights of Kingdom Air Corps greeted us, as if we had never left last August. Our hearts have been refreshed, listening to stories of all that God has done, and sharing some of our own.

It has been both bitter and sweet to be back, but if I am going to be completely honest, it has been mostly bitter.

I told myself I would not let the blog go silent the way I did last year. That I would write of our time in Alaska, and I would write it with honesty. I would write the things that are hard to admit, harder to write, and even harder still to share.

And I would write not because I needed the rest of the world to know (though I do believe that in sharing our hearts and sharing our stories, God can do incredible things).. but I would write for me. Because I needed to see it with my own eyes– I need to see the redeeming grace of God at work this summer.

We have seen time and time again the way He uses our stories and experiences not just to change our lives, but to touch the lives of those who listen and read and join the journey with us. And so that is my prayer this summer: that with journal and pen and coffee in hand, He would use these words for His purposes, and give me the courage to keep writing.

Alaska is hard. I do not know that there is a way to share just how hard it can be, until one has experienced and tasted it for themselves. My days are more than ‘a little boring’, which is an easy assumption to make. These months are harder than that ‘camping lifestyle’ people like to make silly jokes about. How I wish those were our biggest problems, because they would be such easy fixes.

Alaska is my battle ground, and very quickly I feel like I am losing the war.

I battle here with enemies I never realized I had. My greatest fears and doubts, my insecurities and sense of worth, my faith and my trust, my marriage, my hopes and dreams… nothing remains untouched.

As the days pass, I am draw back to the story of Jacob from Genesis 32. I read it again and again with each new day.

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So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and with man and have overcome.

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

“But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

-Genesis 32:24-31

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Much like Jacob, the night is long. Much like Jacob, I am full of fear for what tomorrow holds. And much like Jacob, I find myself a God-wrestler. But there is never a length too great that God won’t go in pursuit of us, and therefore I find myself in the wrestling match of a lifetime. No, I do not want this. This is not what I signed up for. This is not what I had in mind.

He does not waver amidst my anger and my bitterness, or my hurt and my fear. As we wrestle, I question who He is and doubt the goodness of His plans.. yet the grace of God pursues me even still, as I find myself saying again and again, “I will not let You go, until You bless me.. I will not let You go, until I see You here.. I will not leave this match unchanged by You..”

And so that’s where I find myself this summer. Surrounded by airplanes and aviation and a world I do not know how to be a part of. Wrestling. And somehow believing that He will show Himself to us this summer, and that we will not leave here unchanged.

These days, I can’t keep up with the laundry basket, overflowing in my bathroom.. much less my inbox that overflows with emails, and this here blog that has gone silent for nearly a month now.

I steal moments, here and there. When kids fall asleep on the living room floor. Or early in the morning, just as the coffee pot lights up and the sky turns pink. Moments, when kids stretch across our couches and the carpet, occupied with a movie for 10 minutes.

These snippets, stolen here and there throughout the rushing of the days… they keep us going.

In my mind, I try to appreciate the moments… the washing of popcorn bowls, piled high next to the sink after Fun Nights. Good morning shouts of excitement from the diaper twins when we walk down to the orphanage every morning. The little ones who come on a regular basis (and at the most inconvenient of times) to spend a dollar in our little shop and count their savings in my hand. The rain that pelts the tin roof overhead. Carl’s excitement to read, and read, and read. Sunshine that pours through our windows early in the evening. The soccer games played out in the yard.

I etch the moments into my mind, as if they are tangible fragments of time I can trace. I remind myself of the way I will miss this busy during the long and lonely days that are Alaska. Right now, that seems near impossible, when all I ache for is one hour of uninterrupted time and a night of good sleep.

The second-hand on the clock ticks, counting the moments. I think of all the moments that don’t feel like enough. The moments we give, and give, and give. The moments that refresh our weary hearts. The moments the worst of my character comes through.. the impatience within my soul, the frustration in my voice, the cynicism of the words I say behind closed doors. Moments of pure sweetness, mixed among moments of total insanity. All of these, moments.

Early in the morning, before the rush and the knocking and the chaos begin, I find in myself a mix of fear and curiosity, wondering what moments this day will hold. With a whisper, I pray He uses them. And then I pray He makes up for all the moments I fail.. the moments my frustration, doubts, judgment, and impatience get the best of me.

For here, we find that we are constantly being stretched beyond ourselves. And the stretching of these moments reveals our deep need for Christ to come, and be enough.. to be selfless where we are selfish, humble when we are prideful, patient where we are frustrated, loving when we are hardened. Moments that make us press hard into who He is, as we are emptied of ourselves.

Haiti’s heat makes my hair stick to the back of my neck as the sun beats the tin roof overhead. Kids sit scattered across the living room and kitchen, working on sponsor letters and watching Lego Batman for the 3rd time this week. The clock on the wall continues ticking away the moments of our last 2 weeks here. But whatever they hold, however fast or slow the pass us by, we’ll give Him the moments we have left.

-Anna

The trees overhead shade us from the sunshine, and for the first time since being back in Limbe, I think I almost hear silence. It’s late Saturday morning in Haiti, and we’ve taken a small group of the kids out for a fun day to swim at the waterfall. As we hike up to the waterfall, we pass the skinny little children and scrap metal shacks and voodoo houses. When we make it to the top, we’ve acquired half a dozen kids to our group along the way. At first, we stand and look, but before long, the kids climb the rocks and jump into the water. I sit on the rocks, enjoying the view and the laughter and the change of scene. And suddenly, all of the need here presses in hard against my chest.

Little boys behind me whisper and point to my backpack, where they know I have cheeko’s and peanut butter sandwiches. I’m trying not to notice his thin frame and boney smile. “Bum tikal.. mwen grangu..” Give me a little.. I’m hungry..

It’s not a situation I haven’t been in hundreds of times here in Haiti. Yet this one feels different. Maybe it’s because of the old woman we saw, picking through trash in the ditch on our way here. Or maybe because of the girl who came to the gate with an infected burn; the one we gave neosporin and children’s Tylenol to, and I can’t get her out of my mind 3 weeks later. Or maybe it’s this little boy with a killer of a smile, who followed us all the way up the waterfall hike.

For whatever the reason, today this place feels like it is just too much. And amidst the rock jumping and the beautiful day we’ve had, I find my aching heart crying out, “God..” The need looks impossible, and there are no other words but His name.

Inwardly I wrestle. Because I can give this boy cheeko’s and peanut butter sandwiches now, but what about tonite? I cannot feed him breakfast tomorrow or Sunday supper.. and I cannot feed him and his children and his children’s children for the rest of my life, teaching him to be dependent on handout’s from the white man.

And it’s in that moment, God reminds me of something He has been teaching me in the last few weeks. Something I have known, but am learning in a deeper way… that apart from Christ, all is vain.

I survey a culture so overwhelmingly lost and what I know is this: there aren’t enough orphanages, enough feeding programs, enough clothing drives or free medical clinics in the world that can save this place. None but Jesus.

The physical need here is overwhelming, the spiritual even moreso. And through my eyes -my human eyes with their narrow viewpoint- it can overwhelm a heart to the point where all seems futile…

But for Christ.

Those words. They change everything.

We finish swimming at the waterfall, the little boys who came with us climbing to the heights and plunging down into the water below one last time. We give them 2 bags of cheeko’s and a peanut butter sandwich to share between themselves as we begin the trek back down. I cannot deny the way it feels like not enough.

On the way we stop, because something about all this isn’t right.. with the translating help from one of our older boys, Stephen tells this group of half a dozen a story so dear to his heart, one that has changed his life. He asks if anyone has heard of a man named Jesus, and before long he and Kerlyn give an unplanned Gospel presentation right there on the dirt trail, beside the trash-filled stream and tin shacks.

I pray God knows their needs, that He uses a bag of cheeko’s and the story of a man named Jesus to work in these boys’ hearts. I pray we did more helping than hurting, that God used us to meet a physical and a spiritual need that day. My mind, it can think of the many ways it wasn’t enough… but for Christ.

I find myself resting in those words more and more.. everything I can come up with, of why the need and poverty and spiritual darkness of this place looks impossible to overcome, but for Christ.

It’s why we can wake up for one more day.

Because.. Christ.

-Anna

It’s been a busy past couple of weeks here in Limbe. Part of that busy-ness was Stephen’s brothers, Luke and Paul, came to stay with us for 10 days! We had such a great time with Luke and Paul, their energy and excitement for life refreshed our hearts and encouraged our spirits. Luke and Paul came to do some video work for Grace Mission, and to meet the kids and help out and just kinda do life with us for 10 days. In addition to doing a ton of video-ing for Grace Mission, they also managed to get some video footage for their own personal vlogs (video blogs). Luke and Paul do an incredible job of capturing life here at Grace Mission, and we are so thankful for all their hard work and effort they put in while they were here.

It is a 30-minute mega vlog, but every minute is worth watching! Just make sure you start it when you have time to watch it all, because you won’t want to stop 🙂

https://youtu.be/-_nbeLHgfy4

Popcorn crumbs lay scattered on the kitchen floor. I sweep them into a pile, listening to the sound of school in the classrooms on the other side of the wall. Remnants of last night’s Bible study litter our house. ABC’s echo through the cracks in the walls and ceiling and our wooden front door.

Broom bristles sweep over the cement as I wonder about this new season the Lord has us in. Upon returning to Haiti, we found out we no longer needed to be teachers for the 2nd grade class– something that (last we had heard) was only an idea that we tried not to pin all our hopes on. Now Abeka’s dvd school program echoes through every class on the compound, and I find myself asking, “What do you have for us, Lord?”

We’ve been back for 2 weeks now, Haiti’s winter welcoming us with its 80-degree climate and dew on the grass in the mornings. We are as settled as one can possibly be, I think. Floors swept and sheets washed and lollipops re-stashed for our little ‘shop’. And while we find ourselves excited for this new season -this break from teaching- we find ourselves a little… lost.

I stand at the sink, watching life on the compound go by. Inside my heart is this urge to do something, merely for the sake of doing. Quickly my mind can rush to a list of things I could fill a morning with. Yet I find God whispering no again and again to my heart. Not yet. Not now.

This change brings about the opportunity to do more of what our hearts are passionate about– discipleship, one-on-one tutoring, Bible studies, skills classes, time to invest in Mikey, youth group nights. The freed-up schedule leaves more time for new things, and we are excited about the possibilities and the change in our relationship with the kids. The calendar in the hallway quickly fills with Bible Studies and Fun Nights and times for skills classes, but a heart can always wonder.. is it enough?

The morning after our first girl’s Bible Study, I sit at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. It’s a Bible Study I feel I don’t have the right personality to lead, and discouragement runs deep as I pour my weary heart out to the Lord. The conviction to start a Bible Study, particularly for the 2nd grade girls, has been there for nearly a year now. But somehow teaching seemed a good excuse for what really was a fear of confronting my inadequacies. Stripped of the lesson-planning excuse, it’s as if the Lord is humorously yet tenderly asking me, “What will be your reason now?”

I survey one compound, in one city, of one country.. and I wonder if we can make any bit of a difference. And in the sweeping of last night’s popcorn crumbs, God reminds my heart that it is not about me and what I can or cannot do. Rather, it is about being a very broken vessel, and letting Him pour through all the cracks and flaws and imperfections.

In this new season I find Him calling.. come to Me. With all your cracks and flaws and ways you feel as though you are not enough. Come to Me. And watch as I work through you, despite you. Come to Me. And allow Me to show Myself mighty because of your weakness.

All He ever asks is that we simply come.

Amidst the noise and the humidity and chaos that is Haiti, I have spent the first of many weeks learning this.. this concept of coming that I have known all my life, yet the Lord is revealing to me in a new way. And I pray to know Him more here, to be filled here, to be changed here.

The last two weeks have held so much. Everything that I can think of has one factor in all of it… God. His faithfulness and provision, his goodness and love, his timing and guiding, and so much more. He has shown us and taught us that He can be trusted in no matter what we face. There isn’t anything in this world that he cannot see or that comes as a surprise to Him. No matter where we are in this world, He is there with us. 

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First I will give a brief overview of what happened and then I want to share all the “God things” that I wrote in my journal from the last two weeks. I hope they can be an encouragement to you as they were to us. 

Overview- First off I want to start this with the fact that many of the orphanage kids and some staff have been getting abscess. They have been able to “pop” them to release the puss and then put them on antibiotics and they are fine. Must be that Haitian immune system.

Sunday, October 22, Anna was sweeping and felt a pain in her right pinky finger where it meets the palm. It started to swell and by Wednesday she couldn’t write on the chalkboard very well as she taught school. That night it hurt so bad she couldn’t sleep well. So I taught school the next morning as she soaked it. Friday and Saturday went to a Haitian Dr office and an American doctor was able to get some puss out. Kept getting worse and flew out Saturday evening for Miami. They were able to do surgery Sunday morning and said that it was an infection called MRSA, that was resistant to certain antibiotics. The surgery went well and they released us Tuesday the 31st. We flew to Chicago Wednesday and did a follow up appointment the 6th with a hand surgeon here. He said its looking great and her range of motion is amazing! Praise the Lord! Will go into these details more but thats a quick overview 🙂 

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When Anna’s hand started to feel more and more pain we had questions. A doctor that I had known from some high school missions trips messaged me at the exact time we were needing answers and help from professionals. He replied almost instantly whenever we had questions and would look at pictures and give advice. He said to write even in the middle of night if we had questions! What a God send he was. Thank you, Dr. Jay! 
We went to a Haitian doctors office Friday and there was an American doctor there! She comes once a year for a week and was going to be there for 2 more days. She was able to get some puss out and provide some relief both Friday and Saturday. I think she kept the infection from spreading deeper into Anna’s hand (lots of doctors were worried the infection had entered the joint or tendons, but it hadn’t!) What a God thing that she was there! 

Saturday we went back to the American doctor and she found the pain killer shot! We were praising God for that, because Friday when she cut and pushed on Anna’s hand to try and get the puss out it hurt so bad Anna about passed out! Saturday we were concerned on our flight out to Miami that the pain would be so bad that it would be a miserable flight. But because she found the pain killer shot and got 2 teaspoons of puss out, Anna didnt have much pain till we landed in Miami! What another amazing “God thing”. 

When I booked the flights out of Haiti I was able to book the flight with the air miles that we have earned from flying to Haiti and it cut the cost in half! 

Thursday Bonnie started Anna on an antibiotic called Bactrum and the doctors in Miami said that was the best thing we did. Not sure how much worse it would have been if we hadn’t, but we are so thankful for Bonnie and Ray and the wisdom they had! 

Some good friends of ours hadn’t been on facebook or heard of anything going on, but felt God leading them to give us a financial gift. The timing was right after I booked our flights and covered almost the whole cost! Thanks guys!! 🙂

When we landed in Miami, we didn’t know what ER to go to. There were so many. God led us to Jackson Memorial and everyone there that helped us was so nice. One lady at the check in got us priority and knew how serious it was. Because of her we were able to get the surgery so soon! 

The night we got to Miami there was a tropical storm going through. Lots of wind and rain I guess. We didn’t know it because we were inside but even that was a God thing. Let me tell you why. The surgeon said that most of the time they would have emergency surgeries first thing in the morning for shootings and stabbing and such. Because of the storm, the fighters stayed in. So we were able to get the first surgery of the day time slot. That was nice because Anna was nervous (obviously) and it didn’t give us much time to think. They just rushed her right down there and did it. What a crazy God thing!

There was a bench that folded into a bed right next to Anna’s hospital bed for me. That was so nice to get good sleep after quite a few nights of not much sleep. 

The surgeon who operated on her was a very nice guy. They said he was one of the best hand surgeons in the area. Who ‘just happened’ to be on the schedule for Sunday morning. We told him we would like to go back to Chicago to recover and he knew another good hand surgeon/friend here. We saw him yesterday for a follow up appointment and he was such a neat guy!

 -Side note- Anna is still on her parents health insurance plan. We were concerned because it is a local network plan for the Chicago area. We are waiting on the hospital paperwork, and praying it is covered. So far, some stuff has been!

Anyways, when the surgeon in Miami told us of this hand surgeon here in Chicago, we weren’t sure if the insurance would cover him. Anna’s mom looked it up and he was! Another amazing “God thing”!

The doctors in Miami had been concerned about Anna’s range of motion at first, and thought we might need to see a P.T here in Chicago. But yesterday the Chicago doctor saw Anna’s hand and was so happy with its range of motion! We don’t need any physical therapy appointments or anything!

We got released from hospital Tusday and got an Uber taxi. We had never used this new technology but was kinda cool! When we walked out of the hospital, the taxi was waiting right there for us! We didnt even have to wait! 

Eugene (the director for Grace Mission) paid for our hotel room that night before flying back Wednesday. Thank you! Amazing how God provides. It was so nice to be out of hospital and have a nice room in a hotel. We slept like 12 hours!
Another amazing provision is when looking at flights from Miami to Chicago, I found some for $34 per person on American Airlines! I’ve never seen that before!

One of the biggest things God has done is draw Anna and I closer knit together. We know each other so much better know than before. It has been neat to be able to be there for her and try and show her Christ like love even when she can’t pay it back (or couldn’t at the time). It was fun feeding her the first day after surgery, as it is something she just really doesnt like 😉 
Lastly the thing that is so neat to see is the body of Christ all coming together and so many offering support if we need it. It is just so neat to be a part of this Body of Christ that works so well together when we all are doing what God is calling us to. We can really trust God with everything- with our possessions, provision, our loved ones, and our life.

Our plans now have obviously changed 🙂 Until this happened, we were planning on being in Haiti until December 12th. The doctors told us to stay in the States for 3 weeks, but by then, we would be 3 weeks away from flying back out. We prayed about it, and felt like we should stay in the States until January and let Anna’s hand heal good. We plan to return early January, and I am studying for my aviation commercial written test in the meantime. We aren’t sure exactly what God has with all the time out, but He’s been so good and sovereign that we know He has a purpose.

Thank you for all of those who have prayer earnestly for us, it has been greatly felt and appreciated. We hope to earnestly pray for each of you when you ask, the way you have for us. Thank you. 

Stephen
Here’s some pictures of Anna’s hand, before the surgery and how it looks now a week after surgery. The in-between’s are kinda gory, but message me if you want them 🙂 

Anna’s hand in Haiti when the problem first started.

Anna’s hand in Haiti.

Anna’s hand int he ER when we gotto Miami.

How it looks now! So much better!